Former Pride Lightweight Champion Takanori Gomi is in the United States and in talks with the UFC. I'd love to see him sign, but until it happens, I'm not getting my hopes up. Gomi thinks very highly of himself and expects a hefty contract. The UFC thinks even higher of themselves and rarely spends much on their Lightweights (other than BJ Penn). I have my doubts about how well Gomi will fare in the UFC's bulked up Lightweight Division. As I've mentioned before, weight cutting is much different in Japan. American MMA fighters take it to the extreme, while their Japanese counterparts do not. This is one reason why Japanese fighters have not had much success in the UFC. I'd like to see Gomi leave Japan and train full time in the United States. Let him roll with some of the bigger Lightweights and maybe it will force him to alter his fight preparation. Unfortunately, I doubt it will happen. He's content with his usual training and other than some quick sessions at Xtreme Couture or Wanderlei Silva's gym, he will enter the Octagon mostly unchanged. If the UFC is smart, they will shelter him for a couple fights. Let him get some wins before throwing him into a rematch with Penn.
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